REMARKS BY ARC. AHMED DANGIWA, HON MINISTER FOR HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT DURING THE COURTESY VISIT BY THE HOUSING DEVELOPMENT ADVOCACY NETWORK (HDAN) ON WEDNESDAY, NOVEMBER 22, 2023
Protocols
1. First, I’ll like to thank the entire leadership, and members of the Housing Development Advocacy Network (HDAN) for taking out time to pay me this courtesy visit.
2. HDAN has been a part of my story at every turning point. I remember vividly the Special Agenda Setting Dinner that you organized for me at the Sheraton Hotels on August 24, 2023, shortly after my appointment.
3. At the dinner, I took careful note of all the key points that were laid out by stakeholders at the event. This includes:
a. The Absence of Credible, Scientific and Reliable Data to Guide Housing Policy Formulation and Implementation.
b. Tackling the Prevalence of Building Collapses and the need to ensure quality of housing.
c. The Need to study and implement Important Aspects of the National Housing Strategy Report co-sponsored by FMDQs earlier this year.
d. Ensuring sustainable Development of urban and rural areas.
e. Unlocking Affordable Housing Finance
f. Improving access to land and easing title administration.
g. Need to drive the nationwide adoption of model mortgage foreclosure law.
4. It’s been over two months since that day, and I am happy to inform you that we have prioritized all these concerns in our actions over this time.
5. On DATA, we are making progress. In our first month in office, we held a formal meeting with the National Population Commission to kickstart a strategic collaboration on housing data. We have set up a Ministry Taskforce that is actively working the Commission to design survey instruments that will help address housing-related questions during their upcoming population and housing census exercise.
6. I am pleased to inform you all that from our technical sessions with the National Population Commission so far, we can say that the Census Survey Framework matches our needs, and the conduct of the next census will help to solve the housing data problem.
7. We have gone further to write to Mr. President seeking his approval for the conduct of the census because of its significance to our objective of establishing the actual housing deficit.
8. To ensure that housing agencies under the supervision of the Ministry are optimized to deliver on our target of providing affordable homes to Nigerians, we have composed a Housing Reform Team of experts, stakeholders – including HDAN representatives, agency representatives, professional bodies, and academia to develop a robust framework for reform of the housing sector including thorough review of relevant laws and facilitation of necessary legislative amendments. This includes the following:
a. The Land Use Act, 1978
b. National Housing Fund (NHF) Act,1992
c. Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN) Establishment Act, 1993
d. Federal Housing Authority (FHA) Act,1973
e. PenCom Act to allow for increased investment in housing.
f. Driving Nationwide adoption and passage of the foreclosure law in states.
9. We have secured the consent and will be inaugurating the Team within the next two weeks with a mandate to deliver their reports within two months. It is important to say that we are not trying to re-invent the wheel but to build on EXISTING BODY KNOWLEDGE as I BELIEVE THERE ARE ONLY A FEW NEW IDEAS. What we have lacked over the years is the POLITICAL WILL to implement them.
10. Therefore, the team will be tasked with streamlining all previous reform blueprints, whitepapers for the agencies and outlining areas requiring reform, with a focus on enhancing efficiency, transparency, and accountability.
11. I believe that reforms and legislative amendments that the Reform Team will execute in collaboration with stakeholders and the National Assembly will be the most comprehensive set ever done in the history of housing and urban development in Nigeria.
12. We are also working to implement the much-needed reforms that will ensure quick, easy, and efficient access to land. We have composed and secured Presidential consent to inaugurate a land reforms committee comprising state governments, traditional rulers, relevant agencies, professional bodies, academia, stakeholders to ensure buy-in and inclusivity.
13. With their recommendations we will draft an Executive Bill and proceed to the National Assembly for the amendment of the obsolete Land Use Act 1978 that has hindered the development of the housing sector. In line with our policy of building on existing knowledge so we can move at a faster pace to deliver value, we invited and met with the Presidential Technical Committee on Land Reforms. And I must say that it was a wise decision to do so. This is because we now have access to the comprehensive work they have done over the past 14 years on Land Reforms in our country. Immediately after the meeting we set up an Internal Ministerial Committee to review and recommend for inclusion in our land reforms strategy relevant parts of their recommendations. Part of this will be the establishment of the National Land Commission to spell out the guidelines and regulations for operationalizing the Land Use Act, 1978.
14. On policy implementation we have called up and met with the FMDQs on the National Housing Strategy (NHS) that was launched in May this year. We have reviewed the document thoroughly towards identifying initiatives for inclusion in our plans for implementation.
15. In line with the Renewed Hope plan to ensure that all Nigerians including the NO INCOME, vulnerable and underprivileged groups have access to decent and dignified accommodation, we are also creating the framework for the establishment of a National Social Housing Fund (NSHF). This is because we believe that access to decent shelter is a not only a necessity but a human right and that all Nigerians across all income segments deserve a decent home to live and grow.
16. To lower the cost of building materials, we are also working to boost building materials manufacturing in the country. This will ensure economic growth, create jobs, and reduce dependency on imports. On this too, we have composed a Building Materials Manufacturing Task Team comprising of experts and representatives from relevant government agencies, academia, professional bodies, and industry associations. They will conduct a thorough assessment of the current state of the building materials manufacturing sector and produce a strategic plan for reforming the sector for implementation. We plan to inaugurate the Team very soon.
17. To increase the stock of housing supply, we have also composed and will inaugurate a Multi-Agency Project Delivery Team. The Team will ensure that all housing agencies work together towards optimizing their strengths to deliver decent and affordable housing to Nigerians. The Team comprises highly qualified and experienced professionals with expertise in housing development, urban planning, infrastructure, finance, and project management.
18. As you may have noticed, our Reform Agenda has many components. They range from slum/urban upgrading because we believe that not all Nigerians can afford the mortgages that even FMBN offers at single digit interest. So, our aim is to make the places they currently shelter in livable and habitable.
19. Another component is affordable housing. Despite the tough macro-economic environment, there are still Nigerians who can afford to own a home via mortgages from the FMBN, FHA and even commercial mortgages. Our plan is to empower and support efforts of the agencies and our Ministry towards meeting this need.
20. Our Renewed Hope Cities and Estates seek to deliver on this because they have inclusivity at their core. Phase 1 of the project aims to deliver 34,500 housing units ranging from 1,000 housing units per site in one location in each of the six geo-political zones of the country and FCT namely: Abuja, Lagos, Kano, Borno, Nasarawa, Rivers, and Enugu States. House types will include Multi-Level Flats to cater to low-medium income earners, Terrace and Detached Bungalows and Duplexes for the high-income earners. We ll also have Renewed Hope Estates of 500 housing units per site in each of the remaining thirty (30) States. House Types: 1,2- and 3-bedroom affordable bungalows.
21. Sponsors will include Federal Ministry of Housing and Urban Development’s budgetary allocation, the Federal Mortgage Bank of Nigeria (FMBN), and through Public Private Partnerships with reputable developers. Ownership Options include Mortgage Loans, Rent-to-Own and Outright Purchase.
22. Under Phase 1 of the Slum Upgrading Programme, the Ministry plans a total of 26 sites nationwide. This includes four (4) sites in each of the six regions of the country totaling twenty-four (24) and two (2) in the FCT. The key services to be provided at the identified sites will include water supply, solar streetlights, rehabilitation of access roads, construction of drainages and waste management and sanitation services amongst others.
23. On the National Housing Programme, we are working on a comprehensive plan to ensure that all units are completed and off taken. Earlier this month we held a meeting with all the State Controllers on the matter. We also made physical visits to some of the sites here in Abuja. We have also set up a Ministerial Committee to review and rescope the contracts of the abandoned sites as appropriate. We will also assess both the technical and financial capacity of the contractors to ensure that we proceed with only those that are capable. Our goal at the end is to ensure that the government gets value for the investment in the National Housing Programme and that we also learn the lessons from its challenges. Under my watch, we will not experience those problems. We will ensure a demand driven approach, take care in siting planned housing estates in viable places where there is demand for offtake, ensure accessibility and infrastructure availability.
24. I have been one of you and remain one of you. I know your passion for the housing sector, I know and understand the issues. I also know that you all mean well, and I am ready to work with all of you towards fixing these issues. I will continue to consult, and leverage the collective wealth of your expertise, knowledge of the industry and ideas and together we shall change the narrative for the good of our people.
25. We encourage all members to feel free to send in memoranda regarding any of the policies that we have embarked on, or any progressive initiative that will help us move the sector forward. As the Minister of Housing and Urban Development, I am OPEN to ideas, initiatives and policies that will help us deliver affordable housing to Nigerians and build safer and more inclusive urban areas.
26. Thank you once again for this visit and I look forward to working with you all.
